IRCTC to launch Japanese-style pod hotel at Mumbai Central; all you need to know about it

By Team Newsable | First Published Oct 25, 2021, 3:30 PM IST

Apart from other basic facilities, the pods will contain WiFi, air conditioning, key card entry, washrooms, and CCTV surveillance.

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation plans to build a pod hotel at Mumbai Central Railway Station. The Japanese-style pod hotel will consist of multiple tiny capsules or pods that will provide travellers with overnight accommodations. It is expected to be released before the end of this month. The waiting rooms on the station's first floor are being used for this purpose, and the cheapest pod is anticipated to cost Rs 999 for 12 hours. Apart from other basic facilities, the pods will contain WiFi, air conditioning, key card entry, washrooms, and CCTV surveillance.

Sleeping pods are a prominent element of foreign tourism in Japan, allowing visitors to find lodging at far lower prices than traditional hotels. According to sources, Mumbai Central would include 48 pods, comprising 30 conventional pods, seven ladies-only pods, ten private pods, and one disabled-friendly pod. It will also most likely feature 5 only-shower apartments.

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In February 2019, then-railway minister Piyush Goyal tweeted, sharing a video about the hotel, that the country's first POD Hotel would be built at Mumbai Central Railway Station, and that due to the special design of this hotel offering world-class facilities on a low budget, more passengers could be accommodated in less space. Indian Railways awarded the contract to M/s Urban Pod Pvt Ltd to put up, run, and manage the POD concept retiring rooms for nine years through an open tender. The land was given over to the developer in February of this year, and it is expected to be operational by the end of October.

The Central Railway has launched a 'Restaurant on Wheels' at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) as part of its Innovative Ideas in Catering programme. The restaurant, built from a decommissioned rail carriage and placed on tracks, is located in Heritage Gully, just across from Platform 18 at CSMT. Rail antiquities such as narrow gauge locomotives and an ancient printing machine remnants may be found at Heritage Gully. The location provides plenty of space as well as quick access to the suburbs through the Freeway.

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